


Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir...and Viperion?

by CobraOnTheCob



Series: RPV Verse [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A lot of the beginning will come directly from the show, Along with lore, Also this will flesh out relationships more since the show failed to do so, And I will dive behind the psychology of each akuma victim, And why Hawkmoth can't automatically make a Miraculous hunting akuma, Changing Let's Perform to Scales Perform, Changing Scales Slither to Let's Perform, Different outfit designs for the girls, Gen, I have no restraint, Several powers and weapons are changed, Since a lot of this was made before Feast, So that it fits with the detransformation phrase, Some fights will be different, Which will be scales rest, Will add tags as I go, miraculous ladybug rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-11-27 07:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20944340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraOnTheCob/pseuds/CobraOnTheCob
Summary: A rewrite of Miraculous Ladybug, but with Viperion being present at the start instead of getting half-baked introductions.This will be broken down into as many parts as needed: The first part in the series will focus on establishing characters and relationships, along with lore that Tikki, Plagg, and Sass can provide.The second part will focus on Chloe's redemption arc (because she needs one. Badly.)I cannot make any promises after that, but enjoy the ride!Will try to update weekly.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy this very canon divergent ride.

The Zodiac Miraculouses once were everywhere. Slowly, overtime, the Ladybug and Black Cat heroes would bring them home, all except for one.

The Snake.

It went between different families, passed down a few generations, before being passed to another family who needed the Miraculous's protection.

At some point in history, the Peacock and the Bee were stolen and used by the criminal underground to establish an empire. The Guardians worked hard to bring them home, and after a long and brutal battle, the Bee was brought home. The Guardians held onto hope that the Peacock could be beaten and brought home, but the Peacock remained elusive.

Then, the Guardians suffered a devastating blow: a young Guardian accidentally led a vengeful Peacock and his army back to the temple, causing its destruction, and while details are vague, the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses were lost in the mountains. Now, three Miraculouses are loose in the world, one active in Europe, two inactive in Tibet.

1935, Germany.

The Snake heroes tried, over and over again, to protect families. Fortunately, when the Miraculous came close to falling into the wrong hands, the hero would pass it to a friend or a family member and told them to run. 

After the war, it was collectively decided that the Miraculous, although a great protector, drew too much attention to them and added to harmful stereotypes.

Sass agreed. He and his last holder created a box that could only be opened by someone playing from their heart, and with tearful goodbyes, Sass and the Snake Miraculous were sealed into the box.

And so the snake slumbers.

The box is then taken to France and put into a boat, a boat that would come into the hands of one Anarka Couffaine.

And the box waits to be opened.


	2. Stoneheart, Origins, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stoneheart, the thoughts of our lovely players, and some bonus scenes that weren't in the original canon that needs to be there.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS LADYBUG

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, fair warning to all. A lot of these episodes are going to have the same word for word line bc it doesn't change that much. I cut down on the amount of "canon" lines there were as much as I could, but some scenes needed those to be filled in. This will change soon, especially once the plot starts to roll. You will notice some scenes will reference a previous scene, which means I kept it canon compliant (i.e. Adrien's test and first act of defiance, that would've happened here but I did not wish to go into detail about it)
> 
> Also, this fic diverges from canon, as I've changed some powers, and in the future, will change some Miraculous jewelery and weapons, and who gets what Miraculous. I will also factor in other ideas I've seen around Tumblr, but those will be revealed later.
> 
> Oh, and spoiler, Chat Noir's ears are real. I was drawing Rena Rouge the other day and when I got to her ears I said "HOW DO THESE ATTACH?!" and decided that 'it's magic' as the answer wasn't going to cut it, so I decided to make them real.
> 
> Eight of these: <>- means a character perspective swap, and four of these: <>- means a time skip within that character's perspective.
> 
> Enjoy the clunky ride, it took me two days to figure out how to get the italics to work.

"The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous put together grants the user a wish, right?" a man asks, Nooroo floating in front of him.

"Yes, along with a special spell," Nooroo replied.

"I need them. I need to heal her." the man said. 

"Duusu had his reasons for what happened to her," Nooroo said defensively. 

"I don't care!" the man roared, stamping his foot. Nooroo squeaked in terror as the white butterflies in the room scattered. "The powers of the Butterfly, I need to know them."

"The Butterfly Miraculous grants the ability to gift someone with their own set of superpowers. Champions, they're called. But I warn you, Master, please, don't do this for evil!" Nooroo squeaked.

"It's not evil, I need to bring her back!" the man protested. Nooroo bowed his head.

"Then I cannot help you if you wind up like her," he says.

"The transformation, Nooroo, I need to know it," a man hisses.

"Wings rise, the detransformation word is wings fall," Nooroo replied dutifully.

"Nooroo, dark wings, rise!"

The man feels the transformation washing over him, momentarily lighting up the room. For a moment, the man thought he heard whispers of past holders warning him against such a use, but he ignored it. The butterflies converge on him, as the final piece of his transformation covered him.

"Paris, do not fear me. I am Hawkmoth. I need the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous to cure her. I need someone to be my Cham - no, akuma. Maybe I'm doing this for the wrong reasons, but I love her. I'm not a good person." Hawkmoth whispers.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Wayzz panics.

He feels Nooroo being activated, and knows that someone is transformed. But the darkness from the man...Wayzz can't bear it. He informs Master Fu in his panic, forgetting that there is a customer. Fu makes a fast cover story and pushes the customer out as fast as he can.

"Wayzz, time to transform! Wayzz - OW!" Master Fu yelps, his body unable to go through the motions.

"Please Master, be reasonable, you're only - " Wayzz darts worriedly towards his holder.

"186, I'm still young!" Master Fu protests. Wayzz raises a brow.

"Really?" 

"You're right, I can't do this. I will bring in help." Master Fu says, walking towards the gramaphone. He reaches in, and hesitates.

"What's wrong?"

"I could send in the Ladybug Miraculous, but I need to balance it out. But we already have the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous missing, not to mention, the Snake Miraculous is still lost. I don't want to risk either of them getting lost. I can't handle another - "

"I know. Do what you feel is right, Master." Wayzz encourages. Master Fu nods. 

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Marinette Dupain-Cheng did not look forward to attending school this year. She'd rather be under her covers, safe and warm.

"Marinette! Your alarm has been going off for fifteen minutes!" 

"Coming mom," Marinette sighed, pulling herself out of bed and headed downstairs.

"Zao an," Sabine greets from the table, eating a bowl of oatmeal.

"Zao an," Marinette responds, plopping down and making herself a bowl of cereal. She sets the cereal bin down too hard and accidentally dislodges an orange, which somehow manages to roll around the table, causing chaos before either of them could react. Both quickly clean up as fast as they can before returning to their breakfast.

"Something bothering you?" Sabine asks. Marinette sighs.

"It's...I'm just hoping that I don't get Chloe in my class again," Marinette said after a moment, needing a bite of food before responding.

"Hopefully the school will do something and take action," Sabine growled, "but knowing the school, they'll be too afraid to step on her toes."

"It'll be the fourth year in the row, knowing my luck," Marinette grumbles. Sabine breathes sharply.

"Unlucky number four," Sabine tries to joke, but sobers when she sees Marinette's eyes drop to her cereal.

"I know I have Mme. Bustier this year, but I don't know who my classmates are yet," Marinette said, scraping her bowl for the last of her cereal and drinking the milk. She got up and washed out the bowl before eating her croissant.

"Chin up. It'll be a new year, and maybe luck will be on your side." Sabine says. Marinette nods, finishing her croissant. Excusing herself, Marinette preps herself for the day and goes downstairs to the bakery.

"Buongiorno papa," Marinette greets as she and Sabine came down to the bakery, her mother wearing a dark red blouse Marinette made two years ago, along with a flowing black skirt that ended at mid-shin while Marinette wore an outfit she made over the summer - pink jeans with a white shirt, her signature flowers on the right side of the chest, paired with a jacket she made specifically for fall and spring weather, her hair in pigtails - it kept her neck cool in the summer and it was cute and manageable. Her father turned, holding a box of macaroons.

"Buongiorno, Marinette," Tom greets, "Macaroons for your class!" Marinette beams and takes the box.

"Thanks dad, you're the best!" Marinette says, and in her excitement, nearly drops the box, which Tom easily keeps from hitting the floor.

"We're the best," Tom corrects, pointing to their logo. 

"Zai jian, see you later tonight!" Marinette said, leaving the bakery. She sprints out so fast that she almost doesn't see the crosswalk was red, and nearly gets her nose taken off by a car that whipped around the corner. She tried to cool her mind down and stared in shock as an old man in a red Hawaiian shirt was crossing the road, a car barreling down, honking. Frantically, Marinette looked, hoping to see anyone make a move. The car honked, the man tried to move faster as the driver hit the brakes...Marinette knew deep down that the driver wasn't going to make it in time, so without thinking, she ran into the crosswalk, and with all her strength (and reminding herself to be thankful that her dad asked for her help moving flour numerous times over the summer) yanked them to the safety of the sidewalk, and overbalancing, Marinette fell, dropping her box of macaroons.

"Are you okay, miss?" the man asked. Marinette glanced over herself. Her jeans did their work, and even if she couldn't see any sign of blood, she'll have to check later. 

"Yeah...oh my goodness! My macaroons!" Marinette cries. Half of them jumped out when she fell, while the rest were still in the box. There'd be no way she'd be able to share with all the class. 

"It may be a disaster, but there are eleven left," the man said optimistically, "If I may, can I have one?"

"Sure! I can split the rest in two later." Marinette said, allowing the man to select one. "I got to go to school, I'm going to be late, stay safe and goodbye!" Marinette said, upon hearing the school bell, sprinting across the crosswalk, unaware of the man's thoughtful smile. She has five minutes to spare when she bursts into the classroom, the majority of the seats already filled. Ms. Bustier looked up and beyond Marinette and noticed Nino in the back.

"Nino, why don't you sit in the front row this year?" Ms. Bustier asks, much to Nino's shock and unhappiness. Marinette watches as Nino trudges down the stairs, and quickly snags herself a row behind him. A hand slams on her desk, and Marinette knows that her hopes and dreams are now officially shattered.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Chloe mocks as Marinette flinches back. Whether she flinched back from the hand slam or from Chloe's new outfit being way too, well, Chloe, she's not sure.

"Here we go again," Marinette sighs to herself. 

"That's my seat," Chloe says, straightening to full height. 

"Chloe, this has always been my seat," Marinette tries to protest. 

"Not anymore!" Sabrina cuts in, "New school, new seats!" Sabrina nearly sings. 

"So why don't you just go and sit beside that new girl?" Chloe asks, pointing to a light ochre girl in the front. Said girl turns and glares at Chloe. 

"But..." Marinette softly begins to say. Chloe cuts her off.

"Listen, Adrien's arriving today and since that's going to be his seat, THIS is going to be my seat," Chloe says, getting into Marinette's face, "Get it?"

"Who's Adrien?" Marinette asks. _Some rich kid who Chloe probably has a crush on. Who knows or cares, just another person to avoid this year._

"Can you BELIEVE that she doesn't know who Adrien is?!" Chloe says after she and Sabrina burst into laughter, "What rock have YOU been living under?"

"He's only a famous model," Sabrina whispers. Marinette's about to respond that she doesn't really care about the models until Chloe beats her to speaking.

"And I am his best friend," Chloe says, "He adores me."

_Well isn't that swell. Another kid wrapped around her finger, just like Kim. Poor Kim._ Marinette thinks.

"Go on, move!" Chloe commands. New girl butts in. 

"Who elected you to be Queen of Seats?" she bites, arms crossed. Chloe jumps back before collecting herself. 

"Ooh, look Sabrina!" Chloe says, "We got a little do-gooder in our class this year!" Marinette nearly chuckles at that. The other classmates have their eyes on the confrontation in the middle of the classroom, some like Mylene are annoyed (probably because she's trying to read) while others like Kim watch as if it was a tennis match. Chloe gets into new girl's face.

"What are you going to do, Super Newbie? Shoot beams at me with your glasses?" Chloe challenges. New girl doesn't bat an eye.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" New girl says, then brushes past Chloe to grab Marinette's arm, "Come on." Unfortunately, she pulls her too hard (_Strong girl, impressive_) and Marinette trips, causing the macaroons to spill. Apologizing quickly, she darts to her seat as Bustier asks if everyone has found a seat.

Why did she not interfere with that?! Marinette wonders briefly, then stares at the box of macaroons forlornly.

"Chillax girl, no biggie!" the new girl says. Marinette glances to her.

"I so wish that I could handle Chloe the way you do," Marinette says. 

"You mean the way Majestia does it? She says that 'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.' Well that girl over there is evil. And we are the good people. We can't let her get away with it." she says simply, her eyes gleaming. 

"Well that's easier said than done," Marinette quietly states, "She likes to make my life miserable." 

"That's because you let her, girl! You just need more confidence!" Marinette brightens at that statement, then picks up that last macaroon and splits it with her.

"Marinette," she says, a warm smile on her face. 

"Alya," her deskmate responds, returning the smile, "Sorry about causing the spill earlier."

"It's alright, I'm really clumsy," Marinette responds, both girls snapping to attention when Mme. Bustier begins to speak.

"For those who don't yet know me, I'm Mme. Bustier," she begins, "And I will be your teacher this year." Marinette registers Chloe saying something, but doesn't think much about it. Mme. Bustier goes on about the syllabus and class rules and expectations. 

_Same song, same dance._ The bell rings, and as students pack up, Mme. Bustier has one more thing to say.

"Those of you who have P.E., Mr. D'Argencourt is expecting you at the stadium. The rest of you can head over to the library." 

"Kim!" Ivan snarls, lunging towards said student. Marinette notices that he has note in his other hand, his left raised for a punch. 

"Ivan, what is going on?" Mme. Bustier asks. 

"It's Kim!" Ivan tries to defend himself, "So going to - " Ivan mutters before being interrupted.

"Ivan, go to the principal's office!" Mme. Bustier says. Ivan growls and crumples up the paper and storms out of the class.

Interesting.

This school looks like it's going to be like the last one, supportive of Chloe and her loyal friends.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Ivan Bruel is fuming.

Kim was taunting him about his crush, and while he shouldn't have been quick to violence, Ms. Bustier should've gotten his side of the story first before sending him to the office! Ivan steels himself, he can't let his emotions get out of control. He's a big guy, he can't just "let his emotions out". So he steels his heart and opens the door to the principal's office.

"Excuse me young man, hasn't anyone taught you to knock?" the principal asks, adding to Ivan's growing frustration, "Go on, out you go, let's try it again!" the principal dismisses. Ivan gently shuts the door, with more restraint then he thought he had. He numbs himself, trying to detach himself from the situation that got him here.

He fails to see the butterfly fly into the crumpled paper.

"Go on, knock!" the principal says. Ivan is about to when something hardens his heart into a mix of apathy and anger. He straightens, staring blankly at the door and a voice slips in.

"Stoneheart," a man's voice greets - _what the...?_ "I am Hawkmoth. I give you the power to seek revenge on those who have wrong you."

Something small tells Ivan not to give in. It's swiftly squashed by how low he feels, and how he just wants to be someone with, as Hawkmoth put it, a stone heart. He wishes that he never felt something for Mylene, and thus would've never been taunted by Kim for it. 

"Okay, Hawkmoth," Ivan says, and purple magic engulfs him. Stoneheart stands, staring at the door, trying to remember why Ivan was here in the first place.

"Well, come on in!" the principal's voice comes through the door. Oh, that's what Ivan was here for. The doorknob's too small for Stoneheart's hand, so he kicks down the door instead. 

"Kim!" Stoneheart roars, the principal having fallen behind the desk. He leaps/crashes through the window, lands on the ground, racking his mind for where Kim would be. He roars Kim's name again, frustrated that he couldn't remember (_why didn't Hawkmoth let me remember where he was, oh wait, I think Ms. Bustier said something about the stadium and the library, and Kim probably has P.E. right now, never the studious type._)

A car screeches to his halt, he can feel the wind of it on his leg. Furious, he throws the car at the school. 

He feels strong. Powerful.

And vengeful. 

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Adrien Agreste's day was not going well. 

He wanted to go to public school, but Nathalie and the Gorilla caught him, and had to bring him home. He was reprimanded by his father, Nathalie having obviously told him about the incident, and he flees the room shortly afterwards. He flops on his bed, trying hard not to cry.

_I just want to be like everyone else. It's not fair, wish Mom was still alive. _

The ground shakes and disrupts his thoughts. He sprints out the front door to see the police force in front of the gates, a stone golem approaching. The police force fires, and much to everyone's shock, grows larger and charges, causing the police force to scatter. Adrien retreats back into the house and vaults over his couch, turning on the TV as fast as he could. A police officer is speaking, mentioning that their head of police potentially had a broken arm while various others suffered other injuries that the doctors were scrambling to diagnose. Adrien notices that there's a box on his table that definitely wasn't there before.

"What's this doing here?" Adrien asks out loud. _Maybe Father cares, and can't express it in words well enough._ He opens the box and briefly sees a black ring before it's obscured by a forest green glow. He somehow manages to keep his grip on the box, as the light forms into a sphere, which fades, and reveals a...small floating black cat-like creature? It appears to be sleeping, and then it stretches suddenly, yawning, before drooping back down.

"No way! You're like the genie in the lamp!" Adrien says, poking at it experimentally. He briefly gets a slight touch of fur before it draws back.

"I met him once," the thing exclaims, "So he grants wishes, big deal, I'm way more personable. Plagg, nice to meet you!" Adrien would've said something in response, before Plagg darts away to investigate his foosball table.

"Ooooh, swanky!" Plagg notes, and bites the head of one of the players.

"No, don't touch that! Hey! Come back here!" Adrien exclaims in alarm, diving to catch it, but Plagg drifts up and out of reach, heading for his arcade games.

"Ooh, it's so shiny! Can you eat it?" Again, Plagg bites at the arcade, before declaring, "No you can't! Ooh, what about this?!"

It takes a few minutes of Adrien and Plagg being cat and mouse, ironic since Plagg is shaped like a cat, before Adrien finally catches Plagg by climbing up the rock wall and getting the drop on Plagg, who is distracted with the remote.

"I still don't know what you're doing here," Adrien says, gripping the soft creature. Plagg twists his body to stare at Adrien with narrowed green eyes.

"Look, I'm a kwami, I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction, got it?" Plagg states flatly. Adrien shakes his head in confusion. Plagg merely looks side to side instead of clarifying.

"Good, now, got anything to eat? I'm starving!" Plagg says. Adrien sits up.

"My dad's pranking me, right? Wait, he couldn't be, he has no sense of humor!" Plagg takes advantage of Adrien's distracted blabber by shooting upwards to look Adrien levelly in the eyes.

"Your father must never know that I exist! Or anyone for that matter!" Plagg says, his arms crossed. Adrien blinks. Plagg went from curious to cold, just like a cat. Interesting. 

"Okay. So, what's this about having the power of destruction?" Adrien asks. 

"Now you're asking the good stuff! Your power is called Cataclysm, and it destroys anything you touch. Once you use that power, you have five minutes before you transform back." Plagg says. Adrien nods.

"Cataclysm, got it. And how will I defeat Stoneheart?" Adrien asks, gesturing to the screen.

"You won't be alone. You will have a partner, a ladybug base instead of a black cat. Only they have the power to purify the akuma and restore any magical damage that occurred. Understand?" 

"Yeah. I think so."

"Ready to become a hero?" Plagg asks, drifting up. Adrien grips the now-silver ring in his hand.

"But I'm stuck here! I'm not even allowed to go to school! What good is a superhero who is imprisoned in his own house?" Adrien asks.

"No good!" Plagg says, rolling by on toilet paper, "That's why it's all going to change soon, if you're willing to change that is." 

Adrien glances down at the ring, and puts on a determined face. He wants to get out, he wants to be free. Slipping the ring on, he asks Plagg for what to do.

"Claws out!" Plagg says, popping out of the roll, "That's how you transform."

"Got it! Plagg, claws out!" Adrien exclaims, punching his fist out.

"WaitIhaven'tfinsihedexplaining - !" Plagg shrieks as he's sucked into the ring. Adrien feels a chill, but it's a good, cold, invigorating chill, like a shock of an ice bath, and as he passes his two fingers over his face, he feels his vision sharpen. He runs his hand over his head, feeling something beginning to sprout at the top of his head, his hearing sharpening just a bit. Without hesitating, he stretches his body, feeling a strength entering his muscles and bones, his ligaments and tendons stretching as he feels something so feral run through him.

"Too cool!" Adrien exclaims, looking at his black leather covered hands, the fingertips replaced with claws. Adrien briefly wonders how sharp they are and he hears the breeze blow by. He reaches to the back and feels a small metal stick attached to the belt. Briefly reading the instructions, like how it extends and shrinks on command, and can split in two, Adrien decides to test the extending ability. Leaping out the window, he runs around, and decides to test how long it can go. He finds that he can jump farther and run faster, and being only slightly winded from it. Deciding to slow it down, Adrien extends the staff to go across a street. He walks along, his balance like a cat's; he can see/sense, he's not sure which, and easily walks across the staff like it's a catwalk.

Hm. So many puns and opportunities.

"I'm starting to get the hang of this," he says, and his ears catch onto the yell of someone falling out of the sky. His mind screams at him to catch the falling red-clad person, but before he could react (_oh my goodness, it's a girl got to save - _), she slams into him, and something entangles them together.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Marinette really hates first days.

It started going great until Chloe showed up in her class, and things just went downhill from there. Now there's an actual supervillain, and despite what Alya said, no superhero was showing up.

Watching the news and slightly venting to herself, she notices a box that definitely wasn't there this morning.

"What's this doing here?" Marinette asks, picks it up, and opens it. She glimpses a pair of red earrings with red spots before a pink glow overtakes it. Yelping in shock, she drops the box and when the pink sphere fades, she sees a floating pink creature. Her brain surges into overdrive - mouse, bug, SOMETHING WHAT WAS IT?!

"Help! It's a giant bug! A mouse! A...a...a bug mouse!" Marinette tries to rationalize as it floats closer. She moves back, mentally counting the steps to her dresser where she can grab something to throw at it. 

"Everything's going to be okay! Don't be scared!" The creature squeaks, which does NOT HELP MARINETTE AT ALL. She feels her desk, and grabbing things at random, throw it at the creature, who dodges with ease.

"AAAAHHHH! THE BUG MOUSE TALKS!" Marinette shrieks. Running out of things to throw, Marinette's hand brushes up against a glass cup she had forgotten about.

_So that's where it was! No matter, this'll trap it!_ Marinette pounces faster than the creature can register, considering that it was trying to talk her down. It relaxes, and its blue eyes are wide.

"Okay. If that makes you feel better."

"What are you?" Marinette asks, taking in the large head to body ratio. It's pink with a large black dot on the forehead, two little antennae on each side of its head. "And how do you know my name?"

"I'm a kwami, and my name's Tikki," she greets, "Now, just let me explain - "

"Mom! Dad!" Marinette calls, reaching for her trapdoor so that they could hear her, keeping one hand on the cup. She doesn't notice Tikki phasing through the cup.

"Nonono! I'm your friend, Marinette!" Tikki says, darting in front of Marinette's face so that she's eye level now. "You must trust me! You're the only one who can stop Stoneheart!" Marinette freezes up at that. Her mind races, how can a thirteen year old girl with broken self-esteem and has only one friend of a few hours stop a giant golem?

"This has to be some mistake! I could never stop Chloe, how can I stop a four meter tall stone being?!"

"With a simple command, you will be a superhero with superhero powers!" Tikki begins.

"This has to be some mistake! The only superpower I could possibly have is super awkwardness!" Marinette protests, then realizes that there's a better candidate than her, "I know! Alya would know, that's my friend. Well, at least I think she would...she loves superheroes, she would totally be up for the job! You should go see her!" 

"Marinette!" Tikki scolds, getting in Marinette's face, "You were chosen, not her!"

Well that makes life much more complicated.

So maybe she will give this superhero gig a try.

"So what do I have to do to defeat Stoneheart?

"You have to break the object where the akuma is," Tikki says, "Your power is Lucky Charm. Once you use it, you have five minutes before the transformation drops. The Lucky Charm will give you a chance at defeating the akuma. Once the akuma is defeated, you throw your Lucky Charm in the air and say 'Miraculous Ladybug'. That will repair any damage caused by the Miraculouses."

"Okay, so all I have to do is break the object the whatchamacallit is hiding?" Marinette asked, putting the earrings on. She got the other stuff down (though her brain was screaming for a slow down, this day was too much already).

"It's called an akuma, which you must then capture."

"Got it. Capture it. And what's that Charm thing again?"

"The Lucky Charm. It's your secret super power." Tikki explains. Marinette sighs.

"This is all going too fast, Tikki. I - I won't be able to pull this off!"

"Trust yourself Marinette," Tikki tries to say encouragingly (easy for her to say, her self-trust was long shattered and thrown away), "Just say 'spots on'!"

"Spots on?" Marinette asks, which is a mistake, because all of a sudden, she hears something and Tikki's pulled forward, and a whoosh of wind blows at her hair. 

"Whoa! What is happening?!" Marinette cries out, as something spreads across her face. The energy rushing over her forces her arm up, she's too surprised to truly feel the rush of creation over her, like inspiration for a new design. Her limbs are filled with strength, her muscles fresh and new, her tendons and ligaments tingling with growth and readiness. Once the feeling fades, Marinette looks at her hands. Her forearms are covered in some sort of metal gauntlet, which appears painted in a ladybug's pattern - red with black spots. Her hands are covered in some sort of biker's glove, a black material covering where her fingers would usually be exposed. Looking in the mirror, she saw that her entire body was covered in a black spotted red material that she could describe as spandex, but more protective. 

_So I say the words and get this?! I mean, the top's nice, it's like the top part of a qipao, but I don't know about the 'pants' part. It's like those yoga pants I've seen recently. At least Tikki gave me a belt. Are those shoes?! Can I get those off?! AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY EYES?!_

Marinette could only stare in shock as she realized that her eyes had changed from deep grey to sky blue, like Tikki's.

"Tikki! Why are my eyes blue?! How does this come off?" Marinette wonders, horrified at the sight of shoes in her room and that her eyes changed color, "Tikki, if you can hear me, I'd like my normal clothes back. I'm not going anywhere - " She's cut off by the news reporting the next move, and to her horror, she sees Alya following Stoneheart.

"Alya?!"

"Marinette! Did you get home okay?!" her mom calls. Panicking, Marinette climbs up the stairs to her bed, Tikki's warning ringing through her head, assuring her mother along the way that she was fine. Getting to her balcony, she finds the pouch on the left side of her belt and opens it, curious on what's inside.

"Okay, I have special powers...and...apparently this amazing super yo-yo thingy?" Marinette questions, then after testing it, throws it in the direction of Notre Dame. The line went taut, letting her know it caught onto something. She pulls, that's when the yo-yo decides to reel her in like a fish. Marinette screams in shock and terror as she launches through the air, and she swerves her body as best she could so that she doesn't wind up as a red stain on the spire. Somewhere in the middle, the yo-yo releases itself from wherever it was holding onto, and she begins to fall. Unable to figure out a good spot to throw her yo-yo, she free-falls, and realizes that she's about to hit a - black leather-spandex clad cat boy?! She slams right into him, and her yo-yo entangles them together and catches onto the metal pole the boy was walking on. They drop, and stop about two meters above the ground.

"Well hey there! Nice of you to drop in!" cat boy chirps.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do it on purpose," Marinette says. He quickly entangles himself and drops to the ground gracefully. She untangles herself and busies herself trying to free her yo-yo.

"I bet you're the partner my kwami told me about. I'm..." he breaks off and looks thoughtful, "Chat Noir. Yeah. Chat Noir. And you?"

"I'm M - " she stops briefly as she realizes that she can't out her civilian identity, and tugs too hard on the string. She accidentally brings the yo-yo and the metal stick, which shrunk on the way down.

"Ow!" Chat Noir yelps, rubbing his head. 

"Madly clumsy. I'm so clumsy." Marinette says.

"No sweat, clumsy girl. I'm learning the ropes too!" Chat Noir says, brightening up quickly. Something shakes the ground and a building topples down. Chat Noir quickly darts off.

"Hey wait! Where are you going?!" Marinette calls out. 

"To save Paris, right?" Chat Noir replies with a salute. Marinette sighs.

"Trust yourself, trust yourself," she mumbles, and flings her yo-yo, and is still not used to being yanked across the street.

<>-<>-<>-<>

Chat Noir followed Stoneheart to the stadium, Marinette trying to keep up as best as she could. While he kept the akuma distracted, Marinette hung back and watched as her classmates fled as fast as they could. She watched in horror and fascination as Chat Noir struck Stoneheart with his staff, who responded by growing larger. Chat Noir calls out for her.

"No, I can't, I'm not going to be able to do it," Marinette whimpers. She's no fighter, she's a doormat. She may have gotten used to being yanked around by her yo-yo, but she can't trust herself to be fast enough in a fight, especially against a stone being that can grow every time it's hit. There's no way she could summon her power, she won't be fast or strong enough...

Alya.

Horrified, Marinette realizes that Alya is at the stadium, filming. Stoneheart throws a football goal at her, and Chat sacrifices his staff by throwing it extend over Alya, keeping the goal from crushing her. Chat Noir's grabbed when he revels in his victory of saving Alya, and Marinette can't do anything but watch.

"What are you waiting for, super red bug?! The whole world is watching you!" Alya's voice rings out. Marinette's terrified, she's no good on camera! 

_This is a moment the will go down in history books. What will you do?_

Marinette is terrified. But being courageous means that even if you are afraid, you're willing to stand. 

So she steels her nerves. She CAN do this. 

Chat Noir is struggling in Stoneheart's grasp. He's still fighting, even when captured. There's still hope.

And so, she leaps off the roof, throws her yo-yo at Stoneheart, and somehow slides underneath him, before skidding to a halt.

"Animal cruelty? How shameful!" she taunts. Where did that come from?! She yanks her yo-yo and Stoneheart falls backwards, releasing Chat Noir as he does so. Chat rolls into the goal, and Marinette jogs to regroup with him.

"Sorry it took so long, Chat Noir," Marinette says.

"It's cool, Wonderbug," he responds, "Now let's kick his rocky behind!" He makes it three steps before Marinette grabs his tail, which is actually a belt. 

"Wait! Haven't you noticed, he gets bigger and stronger with every strike. We have to do something different." 

"Different how?"

"I don't know," Marinette begins, and Chat interjects.

"Okay then, let's use our powers! Cataclysm!" Chat calls, and in his right hand, he summons some sort of black energy. Marinette blanches, the energy just feels _wrong_.

"Apparently I destroy whatever I touch," Chat says, almost smugly.

"I don't need a superpower to destroy everything," Marinette comments drily, and realizes that he's going to test his power on the goal, "No don't do that!" she says, a second too late. The goal post rusts instantly, and collapses. 

"Cool, it's just you and me now! Time to rumble, soon to be rubble!" Chat Noir says. Marinette notices that his hand no longer has the destructive energy leaping around in it.

"Chat Noir, wait!" she tries to warn. She sees Chat touch Stoneheart's foot, which doesn't do anything except to anger Stoneheart into kicking him back to her.

"I guess I only have one shot to use my power?" he asks meekly. 

"Yeah, and you only have five minutes before you transform back! Didn't your kwami explain anything to you?!" Marinette reprimands. Chat rubs his head sheepishly. 

"I guess I was a little excited about my new life."

"Well, up to me. Lucky Charm!" Marinette calls, and a wetsuit falls to her. 

"Super power," Chat drily says, as Marinette stares at the wetsuit in her hands.

"My kwami told me I had to break the object where the whatchamacallit, the akuma, is hiding," Marinette explains. 

"Well he's made entirely out of stone," Chat unhelpfully points out to Stoneheart who is slowly making his way across the field. She notices that his right fist is clenched around something. 

"His right hand! It's still closed! He never opens it! It's like a Russian doll, the object isn't on him, it's hidden in his fist!" Marinette exclaims. Dozens of plans race through her head, barely registering Chat asking what the plan is. Alya is next to a waterspout, and she realizes that she can use that to fill the Charm and force Stoneheart to open his fist with it. The hose at her feet gives her an opening.

"This," Marinette says, and gets the nozzle into the suit, "Don't resist, trust me."

She uses her yo-yo to throw Chat, who screams something about her being crazy, at Stoneheart, who grabs him in his left hand. 

"Catch me if you can!" Marinette taunts, leaping with the Charm. Her gambit pays off, he grabs her with the right hand, unknowingly dropping the object.

"And now, Alya! The tap!" Marinette calls. Alya quickly scrambles over and unscrews the tap, letting the water fill the wetsuit. Stoneheart releases them both, and Marinette lands easily. She darts over to the purple object, and stomps on it quickly. She really needs better shoes for that, not these weird-looking flats. A purple butterfly rises up from the object, she's too taken by its beauty to remember her other task. Stoneheart reverts back to Ivan, and both he and Chat fall gracelessly to the ground. The object loses its purple color and turns into a crumpled piece of paper.

"What's going on? What am I doing here?" Ivan asks, groggy and confused, as if just waking up. 

"You were incredible, Ms....uh, Bug Lady. You did it!" Chat compliments. Marinette rubs the back of her head bashfully. 

"We both did it, partner. Pound it!" Marinette says, as both she and Chat fist bump each other. Chat's ring beeps.

"You should get going," Marinette says seriously, "Our identities must remain secret."

"Farewell M'Lady," Chat says bowing, "Let's do this again soon, okay?" He darts out of the arena and out of sight. Marinette turns back to Ivan.

"Uh-oh, not too soon I hope," Marinette mutters, then reads the letter, thinking, _Wow Kim, that's cruel._

"Kim wrote it, he's always making fun of me," Ivan says. Marinette's heart drops, Kim was a sweet kid when they were younger, up until he joined Chloe in the bullying circle. Sure, he did it to keep kids from bullying him about his heritage, but as the saying goes, cool motive, still murder.

"You know, you shouldn't get so bent out of shape about it," Marinette said, trying to pretend as if she didn't know who Kim was, "There's no shame in telling someone you love them, Ivan."

"Hey, how do you know my name?" Marinette blanched, terrified over her slip-up. Before she can come up with an excuse, Alya runs up.

"Uncanny! Amazing! Spectacular!" Alya praises, "Are you going to be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get stung by a radioactive ladybug? Oh, I've got a ton of questions to ask you, uh, Miss, um..."

_That's a lot of questions Alya. Wait, she's asking for my name?!_

"Ladybug. Call me Ladybug." Marinette says, striking the most confident pose. She's not sure what exactly possessed her to use the English variant of the name, but it has a nice, simple ring to it. She quickly leaves the arena, hearing Alya fangirl about the name. 

<>-<>-<>-<>

Her high of fighting a stone golem is violently brought down when numerous people get turned into stone statues. 

She failed.

So she takes off the earrings and is left alone to stew in her misery.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Luka Couffaine is not the neatest kid. At least he could claim to be able to walk on the floors. Still, he curses himself as he goes digging around his room for his favorite guitar pick. He could've sworn he put it in the guitar case...

_What's this? _ Luka wonders, as he notices that when pulling out his guitar case, a small intricate box was accidentally pulled out as well. He picks it up, looks it over, then sets it on the small nightstand next to his bed. Slightly frustrated, he pulls out a random pick from the case and begins to play. First day of school is kind of rough, and there was a supervillain called Stoneheart running around? At his little sister's school? And now there are multiple stone beings? What was the world coming to? Luka's frustrations spill into his song, and he doesn't hear the clicks of the box unlocking until he finishes playing. 

He nearly drops his guitar.

The box is now open and there was small octagonal black box with a red design on what Luka could only assume to be the lid. He's hesitant. Something pulls at him, though. It's almost as if it's a legendary siren, calling Luka to open the box.

He opens it. For a brief moment, he sees a jade bracelet carved in the form of a snake eating its own tail, then a blinding bright light formed above it, right at his eye level. 

_OW THAT'S BRIGHT - HOLD ON, IS THAT A FLOATING SNAKE?! _Luka panics, grabbing for his guitar to swing at the thing - 

"Whoa, whoa, sstop right there!" the thing yelps. Luka stares at it. It's green, and a cute little hood like a cobra's, and little diamond patterns running down its spine. Two little fangs poke out of its mouth, its yellow eyes begging him to not use the instrument as a weapon.

"First of all, explain to me who you are?" Luka asks, still holding his guitar like a bat, now understanding why some people used instruments as weapons. 

"I am Sassss, kwami of music!" the snake thing greets himself. He even has a cute little hiss at the end!

"Uh...Luka, Luka Couffaine."

"Sso I figured," Sass says, then takes a moment to allow himself to stretch, "How long has it been since 1945?" 

"I'm going to stop you right there before telling you what year it is, I need to ask you: What's a kwami?" Luka asked. 

"A kwami is a creature that can do many thingss, but are bound by a Miraculouss in order to be seen by a creature like a human," Sass explained.

"Things like what?" Luka asked.

"Are you asking for what I as a kwami can do or what a Miraculous does?" Sass asked back.

"Kwami things first, Miraculous second," Luka said.

"As a kwami, I can levitate, phase through things, and with a ssimple command, turn the Miraculouss wearer into a hero. Also, please don't tell anyone about me." Sass explained.

"Okay, okay, so, classic hero stuff where I can't tell anyone that you exist, but I live on a boat, where someone could hear you easily," Luka said carefully.

"I can hide," Sass said, crossing his arms over his chest. Luka shrugged.

"I guess. So what's the whole...Miraculous thing?" Luka asked.

"With a command, you can turn into a hero, as I said. You, as the Ssnake hero, will be sstronger, fasster, and more agile than your average human, but not like, sstrong enough to throw a Jeep. If you get punched or thrown into a wall, for instance, your bones won't break, but I'll be sore for days, so try not to get thrown into a wall or get punched. You'll feel the pain, but it's not like it's going to completely take you out of the fight." Sass said. 

"So you're telling me I could be a hero like Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Luka asked, realizing what Sass was saying.

"Yes, that is the intention of the Miraculouss," Sass says, "For the good and protection of humanity. The kwamiss are connected to an absstract concept. My concept is music."

"It's like I'm made for you," Luka says, his mouth nearly falling open at the idea. 

"Another quesstion: were you born in the year of the Ssnake?" Sass asks. Luka blinks.

"No, I was born in 2001..." Luka says, and Sass's brow furrows for a minute.

"Ssweet flutess!" Sass's eyes light up in happiness.

"What?"

"You could be one of the most powerful Ssnakess in hisstory! You have an affinity for music and born in the year of the Ssnake!" Sass nearly zips around the room in ecstasy, but composes himself as quickly as he can. 

"What do you mean?" Luka asks.

"I am part of the Zodiac set, and a person can only use a Miraculouss from that set if they're born in the year of that Miraculouss or have an affinity for the concept. For instance, a person can be born in the year of the Snake but have no affinity to music, but they could use my Miraculous, or they could be born in a different year as long as it's not a Pig, but if they have an affinity to music, they could use this Miraculous."

"Oh. I see. So, how caught up are you on the news?" Luka asked. 

"When I'm inactive, I'm bassically hibernating, which meanss that I don't know what'ss been going on because I went dormant in 1945, can you turn on the radio please?" Sass asked. Luka blanked out for a minute.

"Oh, you want me to turn the news on! Here, my phone should have the latest news, given that the WiFi works right now." Luka said, unlocking his phone and opening a news app. Sass blinked. 

"That'ss a phone?" Sass asked, as Luka set it on the table, "Why are you laying it on the table?"

"This thing is bigger than you and you'd probably drop it and it'd shatter and it'd be a pain to have to fix it," Luka said. Sass raised a brow.

"So humans went from phoness that are bigger than their head to something that can fit in their hand easily and can also break easily. And managed to make them without wiress and antennae. Impressssive. How does it work?"

"It responds to your touch, so if you need to read more, just move your hand or paw or whatever it is that you have on the screen and it'll roll with it, like this," Luka said, demonstrating for Sass.

"Okay, cool," Sass said, testing Luka's instructions before actually reading. 

"All caught up?" Luka asked after a few moments and videos.

"Wow, Ladybug and Chat Noir are the new heroess on the block. Good to know. And they don't know about me, which is good."

"Why is that good?" Luka asked.

"It's because they don't want me to be loosse in the world, so they limit me to as few heroes as possible. It's a shame, there are sso many Ssnakelets I could've had. Oh well." 

"But shouldn't we work with Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Luka asked.

"Conssidering that I saw an akuma, yes, we should work with them. If the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculoussess are not out for uss, it's because there's a rogue Miraculouss user. And that rogue is a Butterfly."

"So what should I do?" Luka asked.

"If you choose to accept, you can transsform into a Ssnake-themed hero the next time an akuma attackss. Your power is Hypnotize, and to activate your power, you have to be sitting or standing still and say Snake Song. As long as you have the stamina for it, you can use your power and not lose your transformation, unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir. But, should you feel fatigued, you will only have five minutes before the transformation drops." Sass explains. Luka thoughtfully turns the bracelet in his hands before slipping it on.

"I think I got it. So Snake Song is my power - "

"You can hypnotize people through the music you play, as your thoughtss will be transslated into the notess. So essssentially, you think about what you want to hypnotize, and who you want your target to be. But your target musst be able to hear you, otherwise it won't work." Sass explained. 

"Got it. So are we just going to hang out or...?" 

"Actually, I would like to eat, if you don't mind."

"Kwamis eat?"

"How elsse are do I keep up your transsformation?" Sass asks.

"Alright, so what is it that you eat?" 

"Bacon."

"What."

"No, I'm sseriouss. Pork. Any type of pork will do."

"Alright, but I'm not carrying pork in my pockets, will jerky work?"

"Worked during the war. Should work now."

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

"The Snake awakens," Wayzz says. Master Fu strokes his beard in thought.

"He's not being hurt, is he?" Master Fu asks. Wayzz shakes his head. 

"I didn't sense any darkness, but only the strongest of connections - the holder is both born in the year of the Snake and has an affinity for music. If Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't already a formidable team, I think this Snake will make them nearly invulnerable."

"We shall wait and see, Wayzz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 will be up next week!
> 
> Also, I was LIVID when they revealed that all Miraculouses apparently had a countdown...and that adults don't lose their transformation when they use their power. So I said "haha, no. Only the Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous have a five minute warning before dropping their transformation. Power balance. Everyone else can hold as long as they can, but their power is going to be weaker. Also, more at 10."


	3. Stoneheart, Origins, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Origins, Part 2, but an explanation why LB and Chat didn't get overwhelmed in that battle (sort of) and Viperion's role!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'll update weekly" I said.
> 
> Haha The Bubbler's going to take awhile since I don't know human interaction.
> 
> This is probably a downer considering the previous episode, but there wasn't much I could rewrite so *shrug*
> 
> Finally we get to see RPV verse Viperion's weapon and power! Also, Luka doesn't really have a superhero name in mind yet, which is why he transforms and is still referred to as Luka, not Viperion. He's a disaster bi and you can't change my mind.

Marinette arrives to school, the earrings in the box they came in. Somehow, it feels like they're burning a hole through her bag, but she tries to ignore it. There's only so much guilt and pain that she can endure, and she's drawing the line here.

She failed. 

She walks numbly as Alya talks excitedly about her new blog, feeling bad that Alya will no longer have content of Ladybug. Her doubt spills into questions, which Alya, like her dad, thought she was afraid of the unknown. Technically that was true, but Marinette just wants some validation for once in her life. Alya then states her belief in Ladybug so boldly that when Alya walks away, Marinette glances to her bag. 

She found her replacement.

Now to figure out a way to get it to Alya without anyone else knowing. She runs up to Alya when she hears Alix ask Ivan if he remembered what he did as an akuma. While Juleka expresses how cool he was and Kim with how terrifying it was to have a stone being out for his blood, Marinette notices Mylene hanging back. Ivan glances at her before looking back at the ground. 

_Why is Mylene hanging back...unless she also likes Ivan and is too shy to approach her and now he's been akumatized, she's even more scared to approach him._

"Once a monster, always a monster," Chloe's grating voice cuts in, scattering Marinette's thoughts. Ivan snarls, glaring at Chloe, and everyone jumps back, terrified that he's going to turn back into Stoneheart again. He storms through the group, and Chloe decides for one last sting.

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" she practically sings. Marinette grimaces, and looks to Alya. She turns to confront Chloe, so Marinette decides to follow Ivan. After giving him some words of advice, to which he takes to heart and happily runs off, Marinette heads upstairs to get to class. She falls into step with Alya and easily slips the box into her bag. Doing so, she felt as if a part of her soul left her, but she tamped down that feeling. She and Alya walk into class and greeted by the sight of a blonde boy doing something to HER seat. Gasping at the same time, Marinette takes the charge. 

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Marinette asks, rage surging through her. The boy turns, his green eyes wide with shock.

_That's right, pretty boy. Pretend to be shocked._

Pretty boy tries to stutter out an excuse, and she hears Sabrina and Chloe laugh. 

_Oh, this must be the model Chloe's so enamored with. Should've figured he'd be blonde like her._

"Okay, I get it. Good job you three, very funny." Marinette says sarcastically. Starting school with Chloe in her class was bad enough, but another person to add to the "Avoid at All Costs" list? The universe is really against her. Blonde boy (he's not pretty to her anymore, now that she knows he's on Chloe's side) stands up.

"No, no, I was just trying to take this off!" Blonde boy protests. Marinette was not having it today. First, Chloe forces her out of her usual spot, then she as Ladybug fails the entire city, and now Blonde Boy is sticking gum to her seat?

There's only so much garbage Marinette can take in one day.

"Oh really?" Marinette asks, her voice dropping low as she leaned in close. Steeling herself, she dropped to the ground and prodded around at the offending gum, before pulling out a tissue and covering it, Chloe and Sabrina's laughter grating on her ears.

"You're friends with Chloe, right?" Marinette asks, turning towards Blondey.

"Why do people keep saying that?" he asks. Marinette snorts in annoyance, her patience is wearing thin and lunch hour had barely passed. She and Alya sit down in their seats, but Marinette's mind is still spinning.

"I know I've seen him somewhere before..." Marinette mutters, then Alya shows her why, "Of course! He's the son of my fave fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste!"

"Daddy's boy, teen supermodel, and Chloe's buddy?" Alya lists, her face concerned and scoffs, "Forget it."

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Ivan whips up a song as fast as he can, and is burning with excitement to sing it. He waits for Mylene outside the bathroom, and tries to confess.

She flees.

Ivan is stunned and frustrated. It should've worked! Badly burned from the rejection, he slumps down and doesn't see the purple butterfly touching the paper wad that his lyrics were seconds ago.

_"This is your second chance, Stoneheart. This time, you have extra help. No one will stop you from capturing the love of your life! Just remember, I'll need something in return."_

Burned from rejection and teasing, he accepts this.

So Stoneheart rises, and activates his stone golem army.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

"Agreste, Adrien," Mme. Bustier calls out. Marinette sees Nino nudge him, and Adrien quickly stands up to loudly say present. It'd've been cute if he wasn't Chloe's friend, so she glares at him. Sheltered, naive, rich...

Her thoughts and roll call are interrupted as Stoneheart punches the door into the classroom, roaring.

_ NO NO NO NO I CAN'T HAVE FAILED THIS CITY AS MARINETTE NO NO NO NO NOT HAPPENING NO._

"Present!" Stoneheart calls, apparently having heard Mme. Bustier call out his name when he punched the door in, "Mylene!'

Well Marinette's never going to play matchmaker ever again. She sprints up the stairwell, retreating behind Mylene's desk and tries to pull the frozen girl along. Others scatter, and out of the corner of her eye, Marinette notices Chloe grabbing Sabrina and holding her as a shield. Giving up, Marinette scrambles as far as she can away from the akuma, adrenaline burning through her veins. Stoneheart grabs Mylene and tries to say something encouraging to her, but Marinette hears Chloe calling her father. This catches Stoneheart's attention, and as he makes a grab for Chloe, Chloe shrieks and shoves Sabrina into his hand. Sabrina screams as Stoneheart just rolls with taking Sabrina and Mylene, and he kicks the wall out and easily jumps out. Alya peeks out the hole Stoneheart made, then suggests that they should follow. Marinette disagrees. She's going to find a very safe place to hide, thank you very much! Alya tries to persuade her to go, but Marinette decides that now is the time to try and push Miraculous to her. Holding out the bag, she tries so hard to get Alya to take the bag without Alya getting suspicious. 

Alya runs out, bagless.

Having no choice, Marinette follows Alya out.

Alya finds Chat Noir and begins to film, and as Marinette turns the corner, she's greeted with the horrific sight of a car headed for Alya, and Chat Noir being grabbed by one of the stone golem clones. Chat Noir throws his staff at the car, which keeps it from falling on Alya completely, but a sickening crunch rings out. Alya screams for help from where she lays, her legs pinned by the car wheel. 

_Her leg is broken oh my goodness no no no no - !_ Marinette's frozen, Alya's screaming in pain, slumped to the ground, sobbing. 

If Alya's leg is broken, there's no way now that she can be the Ladybug holder.

So Marinette pulls the box out of the bag and hides behind some bushes. She puts the earrings on, and they glow with warmth before Tikki reappears.

"I think I need Ladybug!" Marinette blurts out to Tikki. 

"I knew you would come around!" Tikki says. 

"Well, I'm still not sure I'm up for this, but Alya's leg is broken, I can't sit back and do nothing!" Marinette declares, "Tikki, spots on!" The earring glows warmly, and the rush of the transformation begins. Now that she knows what to expect, Marinette feels the creative energy singing for her. Her mask materializes as she spreads her hands over her face, and letting the energy in her left arm get out, she moves through the transformation, letting her body get used to the strengthening and feeling of regrowth. Like a spring breeze, her suit covers her snugly and gives her comfort. When she finishes, she takes a moment to admire her new appearance. The top's the same as before, as is the design, but she's pleased to see that coattails have been added. She wasn't sure about boots yet, since she wasn't sure if it would interfere with her flying through the air, so she kept her shoes to what appeared to be the Miraculous equivalent of ballet flats. Maybe next time. 

Wait, enough about the suit. Alya!

Moving fast, Ladybug quickly figures out the best way to get the car off Alya. She loops the yo-yo under the car and gets to the roof of the building, and pulls.

"Alya! Crawl out if you can, I don't know how long I can hold this!" Ladybug calls down. Alya complies, moving as fast as she can. Ladybug hangs on until seconds after Alya has freed herself and dragged herself a meter and a half away from the car before she lowers it gently. Jumping down, she turns Alya to her back.

"Ladybug?" Alya asks, in pain. 

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Ladybug asks, trying not to look at her legs. Alya grimaces, but gestures weakly towards her phone.

"I can call my mom and explain what happened. I'll get myself to safety, go save Paris, please! Stoneheart has two girls as his hostages!" Alya says. Ladybug hesitates.

"I don't want to leave you here..." Ladybug says. Alya smiles weakly.

"Ladybug, more people are going to get hurt unless you defeat Stoneheart. I'll be fine..." Alya says. Ladybug nods mutely.

"You're being very brave, Alya. Not many people have your braveness." Ladybug says and Alya gives a small chuckle, standing up. She gets Alya's phone for her, and as Alya dials her mom, Ladybug picks up Chat's staff with her yo-yo and leaves. 

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

"They've been reawakened!" Sass exclaims. Luka quickly hushes Sass as fast as he could, he's back at school and not in the chaos of his room, where Sass could be passed off as a YouTube video. The school goes into lock down, as the stone beings are too close to the school for it to be considered safe to operate. Luka easily slips out of school in the chaos of students stampeding for the nearest and safest classroom. Easily getting outside, he looks around.

"I should find a spot to transform, shouldn't I?" Luka asks. Sass thinks thoughtfully about the situation.

"Thiss is a very unique ssituation, you can use your power on the sstone beingss. Ordinarily, you can't use your power on an akuma because the Butterfly holder will be able to keep your music from hypnotizing them, but the oness who aren't the original akuma, they can be hypnotized. Undersstand? Alsso, stay out of sight if you can help it." Sass said. Luka nodded, and found the perfect place to transform.

"Sass, scales perform!" Luka says, and instinctively raised his arm high. Sass swirls into the bracelet, and for the first time, Luka hears the purest music ever known to mankind. He strikes his arm down, the pungi being summoned, as his body glows blue. It's like shedding skin but in reverse as the suit appears over his body. He swipes his hand over his face, masks are important after all! Easily, he finishes, moving his arm and striking a pose, and has a random thought about his sister laughing about it. 

Moving fast, he shakes the thought off and jumps to the rooftop. He sees already that Stoneheart is at the Eiffel Tower, his stone army marching towards the original. Luka sits down.

"Snake Song!" Luka whispers, and begins to play the pungi. _Walk away from him, walk away...walk away from him, walk away...Ladybug and Chat Noir will have a longer day if you go near..._

He pours his mind into the song, and stone beings begin to turn and walk away from their intended destination. He wishes he had a better sound system aside from trying to play an instrument at the top of his lungs, but he can't stop. He can't move once he's started, otherwise the spell will be broken. 

So he sits and plays, the stone army being thinned down as they reverse their direction. It's too late for Luka to stop those already at the Tower, but he can at least keep the stone beings from overwhelming Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

Ladybug leads the way to the Eiffel Tower, and when they arrive, they hear Officer Raincomprix demanding for the return of both Mylene and Sabrina. Chat notices that Ladybug had added something new to her outfit (were those coattails?) before he hears Stoneheart tell Officer Raincomprix that he can have one of them back and throws Sabrina at the barricade Raincomprix was making his stand. Ladybug reacts fast, swooping in, Chat hot on her heels. Ladybug effortlessly slides, and Sabrina, sobbing profusely, attempts to thank her. Ladybug helps Sabrina stand and watches as Sabrina and her dad reunite. Smiling slightly, she turns to Chat.

"I really should've thought of adding boots to the costume," Ladybug said, "Extra protection for the knee. I mean, my knees are fine, but you can just feel every single rock in the pavement and think 'More knee padding would be great." Chat's about to say something witty, when Officer Raincomprix gives the order to fire.

"No wait! Don't attack them, it'll only make it worse!" Ladybug says. Raincomprix merely brushes it off.

"I have a new plan, unlike you, move aside and let the pros do their thing. You've already failed once." Raincomprix says. Chat holds back from hissing, and notices Ladybug just droop, from her shoulders and head, even to her ribbons, responding like his ears flattening in anger.

"He's right you know," Ladybug says sadly, turning towards Chat, "If I captured Stoneheart's akuma the first time around, none of this would've happened! I knew I wasn't the right one for this job!" She covers her beautiful blue eyes with her hands, and Chat blanches briefly. He has no idea how to encourage someone, but he knows that this poor girl needs an ego boost! Asserting himself, he puts a comforting clawed hand on her shoulder.

"No. He's wrong. Without you, she would no longer be here." Chat says, in what he hopes is a comforting manner, jutting his chin towards Sabrina, who has two officers comforting her. Raincomprix sees this, and his gaze softens momentarily, "And because without us, they won't make it. And we'll prove that to them. Trust me on this, okay?" Chat says, looking her in the eyes. 

"Okay!" Ladybug says, her blue eyes brightening. Chat's mouth quirks into a smile when he hears a retching sound. Turning, he sees that Stoneheart is caught in a coughing fit, and coughs up a cloud of dark purple butterflies into the sky before slumping back. The butterflies fly up and form the shape of a man's head, which somehow begins to speak.

"People of Paris, listen carefully, I am Hawkmoth," Creepy butterfly head introduces himself.

"Hawkmoth?" Both heroes ask at the same time. 

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me the Ladybug earrings and Black Cat ring now! You've done enough damage to these innocent people!" Hawkmoth accuses. Chat's blood boils. How dare Hawkmoth say this! Chat and Ladybug aren't the ones who turned the kid into Stoneheart, he did! All they did was get a Miraculous to try and stop Stoneheart! His thoughts are interrupted by Ladybug clapping sarcastically and walking forward.

"I really should've asked for boots," Ladybug whispers to Chat, before turning her full attention onto Hawkmoth, "Nice try Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would've been transformed into villains! Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you! And you will hand us YOUR Miraculous!" Ladybug yells, then runs forward, using her yo-yo to launch herself into the air. Ladybug captured the butterflies swiftly, the butterfly cloud screaming as a butterfly was captured. Landing on one of the Tower's platforms, she turns to face everyone.

"Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Chat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!" Ladybug promises. She raises her yo-yo to the sky and opens it, releasing a massive cloud of white butterflies. Chat's jaw drops, this girl went from 0 to hero in a minute. 

"Wow, whoever she is behind that mask, I love that girl," Chat declares to himself, and hopes that no one hears what he said. Racing towards the Eiffel Tower to stand with the spotted hero, he hears the other girl in Stoneheart's hand cry out for help. Landing beside Ladybug just in time to witness Stoneheart rise back up and declare that they would never take Mylene from him, Chat waits too long to react as Stoneheart jumps the platform and begins to climb up the tower, calling for his stone golems to climb up. 

"We're surrounded! What do we do now?" Chat Noir asks, his brain coming up with no answers, "We can't attack them!" Ladybug turns, then looks thoughtfully at Stoneheart's fist.

"Yes, but we know where the akuma is."

"In his clenched fist, the one where he's holding Mylene with. So..."

"So we know he's in love with her..." Ladybug says, then gasps, "That's it! We don't separate Stoneheart and Mylene, we bring them closer together! They're made for one another! It's just that they don't know it yet!" With that, Ladybug darts away and goes up the tower.

"Uh, I'm not really following you, but guess I better trust you! Something tells me that this is how it's going to be from here on out." Chat Noir says, then follows Ladybug. Getting to the top of the tower, he hears Ladybug reassure Mylene about something, but Stoneheart roars loud enough to make Chat Noir briefly which ears to cover. He tries to cover all of them at once. Two stone golems pop up behind him and one tries to smash him into a Chat Noir pancake, but he moves fast enough and readies his staff. 

"How are you planning to get them closer than they already are?!" Chat calls to Ladybug. 

"By using our powers!" Ladybug calls back, "Lucky Charm!" In his distraction, one golem flung Chat in the air as she inquired what she was to do with a parachute. 

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?!" he calls, recovering just in time to keep himself out of reach. 

"We'll find out soon enough!" Ladybug responds, "His hand! Get ready." Chat runs across the top as soon as he hears Mylene yelping in terror, the girl clinging to Stoneheart's finger, still getting over the shock of lip contact between the two. Chat dives off the side of the Eiffel Tower and bats the akumatized object back at Ladybug. He quickly jams his staff into the side of the Eiffel Tower and hangs there, waiting for Ladybug's next move. He watches as a purple cloud forms over Stoneheart, which turns him back to Ivan. Both Ivan and Mylene fall, screaming.

"Chat Noir! You take care of Ivan!" Ladybug calls, diving down. 

"Cataclysm!" Chat calls, and feels the rush of destructive energy running towards his palm. He uses his staff as a springboard, and touches the side of the Tower, concentrating on what needed to break and what needed to rust to make the spike. Plagg told him the Cataclysm didn't always need to destroy something, it just needed to mess with the chemistry of an object to bend it out of shape so that a cat can use it to their advantage. Easily catching Ivan, he sees Ladybug grab Mylene, throw her yo-yo, catch the akuma, and opens the parachute. Chat pulls Ivan up the best he can, and both boys crawl across the rusted spike back to the platform, where Chat retrieves his staff and gets them quickly to the ground. He and Ivan watch in amazement as pink clouds rush around the city, fixing the damage. 

"Whoa, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Chat Noir asks. 

"Yeah, it's beautiful, and amazing, it's...MIRACULOUS!" Ladybug exclaims, as the pinks clouds (he realizes that they're little ladybugs rushing around and fixing the damage, so cute!) finish their clean-up and disperse into the sky. Chat waits for Ladybug to finish talking to Ivan and Mylene, who walk back to the school together. 

"They're so made for each other," Ladybug says adoringly. Chat smiles and reaches for her shoulder.

"Like us two," Chat says, but is interrupted by the beeping of his ring.

"Uh-oh! You see that? Time to split. See you soon, Chat Noir. Say, how about ten at night, at this spot?" Ladybug asks.

"Okay!" Chat Noir says. Ladybug grins, then turns and throws her yo-yo and swings away. Chat turns the other direction, using his staff to get across the city and back to the school. 

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

She did it she did it she did it she did it! She finds an alleyway and detransforms, and finds that Alya texted her that she's good as new! Magical ladybugs came in and swirled around her legs as her mom was driving her to the hospital, and when they were gone, her legs and clothes were back in functional condition. Marinette beams, she healed Alya! She meets up Alya a block away from the school, and walks with her.

"I mean, getting my legs broken by a car was terrifying, but getting my video was worth it! Sort of, I mean, I didn't get to see the action, but Ladybug got to save me! Oh wait, I got to add that to my blog!" Alya says. 

"Are you sure you're okay?" Marinette asks, "That must've been terrifying!"

"Ladybug saved me, and later, healed me! I should be fine physically!" Alya chirped, "If only I didn't get my legs broken, I could've biked to the Eiffel Tower and seen Ladybug in action!"

"Don't worry, you'll get your scoop eventually," Marinette reassured. Sure, she was going to have to set ground rules with Alya, but that was a problem future Marinette/Ladybug would have to deal with. 

"You're right. Next time, it's 'Ladybug! An exclusive interview!'"

"Ooh, sounds exciting!"

"Oh, wait, even better. 'Finding out who's really under that mask'." Alya says, her face determined. Marinette rolls her eyes slightly.

"Uh-huh, good luck with that one," Marinette said, making a mental note on making sure she was able to book it when fights were over. Walking into class, Marinette decides on one more thing. If she can verbally smack down a supervillain, jump off the Eiffel Tower with a parachute, catch Mylene and an akuma at the same time, then she can definitely stand up to Chloe.

No more complicit shy sweet Marinette.

"No, wait," Marinette says, as she and Alya are heading to their assigned seat. She'll talk to Mme. Bustier afterwards about the seating change. She scampers up the stairs and gestures to the row behind Nino, and Alya smiles. Asserting themselves, Marinette braces herself for when Chloe would inevitably swarm in. 

"Uh, you're in the wrong seat," Chloe says, a minute after Marinette and Alya settle into their new seats, "Go on, get lost!" 

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing," Marinette says, staring down Chloe.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Chloe asks. 

"It means that I'm not putting up with your crud anymore, Chloe! And neither is anyone else around here!" Marinette declares, standing up, "So take your attitude and go on! Get lost!" Marinette says, throwing Chloe's words back at her. The rest of the class laughs, Chloe finally got owned. Chloe, fuming, stalks towards her new seat and sits down, Sabrina meekly following. 

"Good job," Alya congratulates, gently bumping Marinette's bicep with her fist. Marinette smiles, still on the high, until she realizes that Adrien had walked in and waved to her. Disgusted, Marinette gave a small sound indicating so, and Adrien, dejected, settles down in his seat. She hears Nino try and cheer him up, but she tunes out what Nino is saying.

<>-<>-<>-<>

It's raining.

She didn't have an umbrella with her. 

Although the school was just across the street from her house, she disliked getting wet. She hears someone come up behind her and realizes it's Adrien. Everyone else has already gone home. She looks down on the ground, not wanting to speak to him. 

"Hey," Adrien tries to greet. Marinette grunts, shoulders tensing up. Adrien opens his umbrella and takes a few steps away from her. "I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat, I swear. I've never been to school before. I've never really had friends beside Chloe. And I guess Nino now, but it's only been a day. It's all sort of new to me."

Marinette stays still. Her hard exterior cracks, and she decides to make amends. Adrien holds out his umbrella to her, and thunder rumbles in the distance. She takes the umbrella and accidentally closes it on herself. She hears Adrien try and fail to hold in his laughter, but when she peeks out, she can't help but laugh with him. Such a beautiful sound, this boy's laughter. 

"See you tomorrow," Adrien says, then walks away. 

"See you tomorrow!" Marinette calls. She can't help but smile all the way home, thinking about how foolish it was of her to jump to conclusions like that. Adrien seemed genuine, and hopefully he'd be the opposite of Chloe.

<>-<>-<>-<>

It's 9:59 and Ladybug lands exactly where she promised she'd be, and before the digits turn to 10:00, Chat Noir arrives.

"Hey," Chat Noir greets quietly, "How about we get to the top of the Tower? I've never been, and I'd love to be able to see all of Paris when I'm not free-falling to my death."

"Sure," Ladybug says, and she and Chat Noir quickly get to the top of the Tower.

"So what's the occasion for the meeting?" Chat Noir asked.

"I was thinking ahead and thought that maybe we should start patrolling around the city, just looking out for Paris at night. Of course, we can't do it every night, since we have civilian lives to attend to, but why don't we have a schedule? I don't want to pry too into your civilian life, but do you think - "

"I think it's a great idea. How about every other night, we patrol?" Chat proposes. Ladybug nods. 

"And in case one of us can't make it, we can just transform and send a message. Think that'll work?" 

"I think it's purrfect," Chat says. Ladybug lets out a small chuckle. 

"Careful with how much you pun, otherwise, I might have to limit you," Ladybug teased. 

"You wouldn't!" Chat mock-gasped. 

"Then it's decided. Patrol tomorrow night? We can work out routes from there?" 

"Sure! One thing at a time, right?" Chat Noir said. Ladybug nodded.

"Good night, Chat." Ladybug said, then she and Chat Noir left in opposite directions, Ladybug making a mental map of the city as she swung home.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

"Excellent work, Luka," Sass says, happily breaking up a stick of jerky. 

"Hopefully no one saw or realized what I did. I mean, I was on a roof, but most of the cameras were on Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Stoneheart, right?" Luka asked.

"You're the one with the phone," Sass said. Luka checked the news, and it seemed like there was no mention of his hero form sitting on a roof. Thank goodness. The majority of Parisians were either hiding or crowding around any news outlet for any update about the Stoneheart situation.

"Nothing," Luka said.

"Excellent. Sstay in the shadowss, help Ladybug and Chat Noir, but don't come out yet. But if you want, you can practice your abilities by patrolling!" Sass said.

"If I can work around my delivery schedule and school, I think I can do that," Luka said with a smile. Tomorrow, he'll do it. Right now, he needs his rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, I was salty about Alya thinking that Chloe was Ladybug when they were seen side by side in the second battle. So the real question is: What's going down in Lady WiFi?
> 
> It's called patience. But seriously. Where did Chloe go if she wasn't grabbed? Lady WiFi will answer!
> 
> I made the Snake's weapon a pungi because I figured if Miraculous isn't going to even use the lyre as part of the power, then might as well throw the whole canon away. Yeah yeah, Luka plays a string instrument, but whoever came up with the Snake's power and weapon clearly wasn't thinking in the lore department. There's so much to unpack, but I do have a notes series that will go on my Tumblr soon.

**Author's Note:**

> So a lot has changed, especially the downfall of the Temple (because I started writing this two months before Feast came out and when I saw Feast I said 'NO. There's too much to break down here, let's throw the entire canon away.') 
> 
> The Prologue kind of ping-pongs all over the place in terms of consistency because while I did want to establish the plot, I also didn't want to word vomit all over the prologue and instead let it pace itself out.


End file.
